Health OER Briefing Document
Introduction
The University of Michigan (U-M) and OER Africa are currently engaged in a one-year effort
to develop a sustainable and scalable OER programme to support health education,
particularly in South Africa and Ghana. This effort is based on collaboration between the
University of Michigan, OER Africa, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), the University of Ghana (UG), the University of Cape Town (UCT), and the
University of the Western Cape (UWC). Because the Hewlett Foundation’s site visits will
focus only on Ghana, this briefing document will concentrate on the two Ghanaian
institutions participating in the project.
In this design phase we are:
1. Engaging university leadership in implementing institutional policy frameworks that
facilitate the success of OER.
2. Holding faculty development workshops to build institutional capacity in OER.
3. Enhancing an innovative, low-cost, and scalable process (dScribe) for converting
educational materials into OER.
4. Collaboratively developing educational materials as OER and deploying them in our
respective curricula.
5. Promoting the collaboration and its outputs through a community of practice web site.
6. Establishing a framework for a longitudinal study of faculty productivity and the effect of
OER on learning outcomes and provide feedback on socio-technical aspects of
collaborative OER practices.
7. Producing an evidence-based long-term logic model for Health OER based on a vision
that multiple stakeholders will own, in which funders will invest, and which institutions
are committed to sustaining. This consensus-driven model will be the basis of a Global
Health OER follow-on proposal.
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
The Institution
Following the report of a University Commission that came out in early 1961, the
Government of Ghana decided to establish a second independent university in the country.
The Kumasi College of Technology located in the City of Kumasi was thus transformed into a
full-fledged university by an Act of Parliament on 22nd August, 1961. By another act of
Parliament, Act 559 of 1998, the University was renamed the Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi.
The vision of KNUST is to be globally recognized as the premier centre of excellence in Africa
for teaching in Science and Technology for development, and to produce high calibre
graduates with knowledge and expertise to support the industrial and socio-economic
development of Ghana and Africa. The mission of KNUST is to provide an environment for
teaching, research and entrepreneurship training in Science and Technology as it relates to
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development of the nation and the continent. KNUST also provides service to the
community, being open to all the people of Ghana and positioned to attract scholars,
industrialists and entrepreneurs from Africa and other international communities.
KNUST has six Colleges, each with a variety of Departments, grouped into Faculties, under it.
These are:
 College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
 College of Architecture and Planning
 College of Art and Social Sciences
 College of Engineering
 College of Health Sciences
 College of Science
College of Health Sciences
The College of Health Sciences comprises the Faculties of Allied Health Sciences, Pharmacy
and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, School of Dentistry, and the
Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in tropical medicine (KCCR). The strategic
mandate of the College is derived from the Act establishing the University, which essentially
is to provide higher education, undertake research, disseminate knowledge and foster
relationships with outside persons and bodies.
The vision of the College of Health Sciences is to be internationally recognized as a premier
centre of excellence in teaching, research and entrepreneurial training in medical,
pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in Ghana and Africa, producing high calibre health
professionals and medical scientists to support sustainable development of the health
sector and industry in Ghana and the rest of the Africa.
The mission of the College of Health Sciences is to provide an environment for community –
based professional training, research, and support for health care delivery in Ghana and
Africa. The College also is committed to providing entrepreneurial training in health care,
pharmaceutical, biomedical sciences to support the industrial and socio-economic
development of Ghana and Africa. The College is also committed to providing research and
training in traditional medicine, especially herbal medicine, health care, pharmaceutical and
biomedical sciences, as well as community services, consultancies, and to create
collaborative links to attract scholars and students from the international community.
The College of Health Sciences, KNUST is made up of 24 departments and 2,098 students,
and has four computer laboratories with a total of 93 computers for use by students. This
comprises one undergraduate laboratory with 20 computers and one postgraduate
laboratory with 18 computers at the School of Medical Sciences (also used by the Faculty of
Allied Health Sciences), one laboratory at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Studies with 20 computers, and one laboratory at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (for
the clinical students) with 35 computers. Three of the four computer laboratories have
network access points (LAN) which connect to the 6MB bandwidth internet shared by the
whole university. The laboratory at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is in the process of
being connected to the University network. Though the University has limited wireless
internet connectivity covering some parts of the university, the College has no access to this
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facility. Each of the 24 departments has at least two computers and internet access points
to aid in administration.
Key Players
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Professor Peter Donkor is the Provost of the College. He has practised as a specialist and
taught undergraduates and surgical trainees in the University of Sydney, Australia and
the University of Birmingham, U.K. He joined the Department of Surgery, KNUST in 1995
as a Senior Lecturer and has since been teaching surgery of the mouth, face, jaws, head
and neck. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery in 2000. He has also been actively involved in the training of medical/dental
interns, as well as surgical trainees. Professor Donkor has served the University in
various capacities, having been a member of the KNUST Academic Board since 1998.
Professor Donkor holds Fellowships from the West African College of Surgeons, the
Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Royal Australasian College of Dental
Surgeons. Professor Donkor serves on several local, national and international bodies
and committees. He has been a member of the Council of the West African College of
Surgeons and is a member of several national committees including the Credentials and
Accreditation Committee of the Medical and Dental Council, Examinations Committee of
the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Research Committee of the Ghana
Medical Association, and Editorial Committees of the Ghana Medical Journal and Komfo
Anokye Teaching Hospital. He is a member of several professional Associations including
the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Dental Association, African Association of Oral
and Maxillofacial Surgeons, British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and
the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.
Dr. Ohene Opare-Sem was appointed by the Provost as the Lead on OER activities for
the College of Health Sciences, and the Chair of the OER Policy Draft Committee. Dr.
Opare-Sem is currently the Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Komfo
Anokye Teaching Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at the School of Medical
Sciences. He is a medical graduate of KNUST and the University of Nottingham in the UK.
He completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Columbia University in New York City
and a haematology-oncology fellowship at the Robert Wood Johnson University, Cancer
Institute of New Jersey and was subsequently certified by the American Board of
Internal Medicine and the American Subspecialty Board of Haematology. He is a Fellow
in the American College of Physicians and in the Royal College of Physicians (UK). Dr.
Opare-Sem taught physiology at SMS/KNUST from 1989 until 1991. Then, after returning
from his extended clinical training in the UK and USA, he assumed responsibility for the
clinical clerkship at KNUST in 1998. He has served as the Clinical Examinations Officer at
KNUST and as a member of the Education and Curriculum Committee of SMS since 2001.
Progress in Implementation
There has been significant progress in advancing Health OER at KNUST in the short time in
which the project has been operational. The following are some highlights:
1) A policy workshop was held at the institution in February, 2009, co-facilitated by OER
Africa and U-M. This was followed up by a content development workshop in the same
month. A detailed report on these workshops, as well as on the accompanying policy
reviews, has been supplied separately from this report. Based on this initial work, an
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2)
3)
4)
5)
OER Policy Committee has been established, which is currently drafting a document with
specific recommendations to make to the Provost.
Part of the U-M team (Pieter Kleymeer and Chris Chapman) stayed on for additional
discussions with KNUST faculty and staff. Dr. Opare-Sem organized meetings with the
Communication Design department, ICT group, and head of ICT at Komfo-Anokye
Teaching Hospital. These meetings helped the team to understand the status of ICT
infrastructure at the institution, and assess how these various groups could collaborate
on the OER work this year and for the future of the programme. KNUST has done well to
connect these individuals and departments, and has continued to keep them a part of
the OER planning discussions since February.
The Institution has completed the necessary paperwork to draw down US$40,000 to
enable it to invest further in specific OER activities. This will lead to:
a) Developed tools, content framework, and content resulting in a minimum of five (5)
pilot draft OER materials by faculty members;
b) Approved policies by College Board, Academic Board and Council;
c) Audited OER materials;
d) Published OERs;
e) Established metric for teaching efficiency;
f) Documented baseline student competencies; and
g) Analysis of collaborative engagement capacity.
Extensive progress has been made in producing OER, largely thanks to collaborative
efforts between the College and Cary Engleberg, a Professor from U-M who is on
Sabbatical in Ghana. The following projects have already been completed, while several
other ones are in progress:
a) Case-based study of erythrocyte profiles and their relationship to pathophysiology.
Includes interactive problems, images, blood smears, explanatory videos, and selfassessment;
b) Interactive cases for background on the indications and complications of the
procedures, narrated video of the surgery, and self-assessment;
c) Interactive, case-based programme with images and explanatory videos that
interpret international standards of care in the Ghanaian context;
d) Instructional animations that explain the basis of some procedures (PCR, RT-PCR,
ELISA, Gram stains) and videos of standard microbiological techniques (Gram, AFB,
Giemsa stains, Formol-ether fecal concentration);
e) An exercise in recording the findings of mental state examination of psychiatric
patients;
f) A comprehensive programme of cases, instructional videos, animation, and selfassessment to instruct students and practicing physicians in the management of
Buruli ulcer disease.
Preparations have been concluded to allow Kathleen Ludewig, an intern from U-M,
working under the supervision of Catherine Ngugi at OER Africa, to visit KNUST to
provide support in the dScribe process and other relevant activities. Kathleen’s time and
travel are being funded by U-M and not by Health OER, but she will play a significant role
in helping to sustain momentum of the Health OER project.
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University of Ghana
The Institution
The University of Ghana was founded in 1948. It is member of the International Association
of Universities (IAU), the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Association of
African Universities. The Mission of the University is to develop world-class human
resources and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges
through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge dissemination.
With a current student population of about 29,754 (representing male/female ratio of about
2:1) the University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the six public Universities in Ghana.
The breakdown in terms of programmes is as follows: Post-Graduate students – 1,816;
Bachelors’ Degrees – 26,154; Sub-Degrees – 1,784. International students currently enrolled
in the University are also 1142. Senior Members engaged in research and teaching number
865. Senior Administrative and Professional staff number 128. The University has
established academic and research links with several universities and research institutions
worldwide.
College of Health Sciences
Medical Science became part of the University of Ghana educational programmes in 1962
when the first batch of students was admitted to pursue courses for a degree in medicine. In
1974, the UGMS initiated the development of a Dental School. The medical, dental, nursing,
and other health-related professional schools were established and based on the campus of
the main public hospital in Accra, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a location that is a few
kilometres west of the City Centre and separate from the main campus in Legon. In 1994,
the Medical School, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, brought into being the
School of Public Health for graduate courses leading to the award of MPH, MPhil and PhD
degrees. The School of Public Health remains the only health science-related school that is
based at the main university campus in Legon. The Ministry of Health, in 1998, initiated the
establishment of a School of Allied Health Sciences to produce medical and dental technical
graduates through the Medical School. Programmes for this School include physiotherapy,
medical laboratory science and radiography.
In 1997, the Academic Board of the University endorsed a proposal from the UGMS to bring
together the Medical School, Dental School, School of Public Health, Noguchi Memorial
Institute for Medical Research, School of Allied Health Sciences and School of Nursing as a
College of Medical Sciences. In 1999, the University Council gave assent for the
establishment of a College but changed the name to the College of Health Sciences. Since its
inception two new schools have been added to the College, namely, the School of Nursing
and the School of Pharmacy. The mission of the College is to produce highly qualified and
competent health professionals and medical scientists to provide promotive, preventive and
curative services to meet the health needs of the nation and the global community through
world class excellence in teaching, research, and dissemination of knowledge.
The College of Health Sciences within the University of Ghana has a central administration
and seven constituent institutions. It has two campuses; one at the Korle Bu Teaching
Hospital which houses the central administration and the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry,
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Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, while the other on the main University Campus
houses the Schools of Public Health, Nursing and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for
Medical Research. The Central College Library has an IT unit that is stocked with 80
computers with internet access for use mainly by staff and students of the schools in Korle
Bu. The schools on the University Campus also have access to the University’s internet
facility. A wireless link between the two campuses is being developed to enable the Korle Bu
Campus to have access to the IT facilities on the University Campus. Additionally, each of
the departments in the College has its own computer laboratory with LAN and internet
access.
Key Players
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Professor Aaron Lawson was appointed Provost of the College of Health Sciences,
University of Ghana, in 2007. In this position he is in administrative charge of 7 health
training institutions in the College. Prior to this appointment he served as Dean of the
Medical School. He graduated from the University of Ghana Medical School in 1979. He
then proceeded to the University of Leicester, UK, where he obtained a PhD in Anatomy
in 1984. He was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Ghana Medical
School in 1985, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1993, Associate Professor in 1999 and
Professor of Anatomy in 2000. Since his appointment in the Medical School, he has been
teaching Anatomy to undergraduate students in Medicine, Dentistry and Allied Health
Sciences as well as residents preparing for primary exams in surgery and related areas.
He has had a number of international appointments, including Research Associate,
University of Leicester, Visiting Professor, Tulane University and the University of Utah,
both in the US. In the University of Ghana, he has served on several boards and
committees. His research work focuses on early development with particular interest in
neural tube development and neural tube defects. He is a member of many professional
associations, including the Anatomical Society of West Africa and the Ghana Medical
Association.
Prof. K. Nkyekyer is an associate professor in the department of Obstetrics &
Gynaecology of the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Accra. He graduated
from the same medical school, MB, ChB, in 1978. After specialist training in the Korle Bu
Teaching Hopsital, Accra, University College Hospital, London and King’s College
Hospital, London he obtained the membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians &
Gynaecologists (MRCOG), UK, in 1987. He was elected fellow of the Royal College of
Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (FRCOG) in 2000, fellow of the West African College of
Surgeons (FWACS) in 1995 and is a foundation fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians
& Surgeons (FGCS). He has been on the faculty of the department of Obstetrics &
Gynaecology of UGMS since December, 1991. In 1999–2000 he spent a year at the
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Centre, U.S.A.,
under an International Fellowship in Medical Education granted by the Education
Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). From 2001 to 2008 he was the
examinations officer of the department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of UGMS and in
2004 he was voted best lecturer of the year by the UGMS class of 2004. He was
appointed Vice-Dean for Medical Education at the College of Health Sciences, University
of Ghana, in 2006. He is an examiner at the fellowship examinations of the West African
College of Surgeons and the membership examinations of the Ghana College of
Physicians & Surgeons. He is the secretary of the faculty of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of
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the Ghana College of Physicians & Surgeons and serves as an editor of the Ghana
Medical Journal.
Richard Adanu is a specialist obstetrician with skills to manage the whole spectrum of
obstetric conditions. He is also a general gynaecologist with special interest in pelvic
organ prolapse and pelvic floor repair. He has worked as a specialist at the Korle Bu
teaching hospital in Ghana since 2001. Richard Adanu is currently a senior lecturer and
consultant with the University of Ghana Medical School. He is an experienced medical
educationist, involved in teaching medical students and trainees in obstetrics and
gynaecology. Richard Adanu also has professional training in public health. His field of
interest is women’s reproductive health. He teaches Master of Public Health students at
the University of Ghana School of Public Health and masters students in population
sciences at the Regional Institute of Population Studies, University of Ghana. In addition
to clinical practice and medical education, Richard Adanu is a seasoned researcher in the
field of women’s health. He has skills in epidemiology and statistical analysis of data. His
research interests are epidemiology of obstetric and gynaecological disorders in Ghana,
family planning, cervical cancer screening and maternal injuries. He has authored 24
journal publications, 12 editorial papers, two chapters in books and has presented
several papers at international conferences. He is also a member of the editorial board
of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Progress in Implementation
Various achievements at the University of Ghana are worth noting:
1) A policy workshop was held at the institution in February, 2009, co-facilitated by OER
Africa and U-M. This was followed up by a content development workshop in the same
month. A detailed report on these workshops, as well as on the accompanying policy
reviews, has been supplied separately from this report. A key component of this work
was that it provided us the opportunity to comment on the new draft Statutes of the
University, with a view to trying to embed OER-friendly policies at the institutional level.
If the proposed modifications are incorporated, this will enhance OER development
within the University of Ghana.
2) Pieter Kleymeer and Chris Chapman spent an additional day at UG (Korle-Bu), meeting
Mr Aggrey (head of the Computer-Assisted Learning Centre with various ICT
responsibilities) and Mr. Sulemani (head of user services at the library). This meeting
focused on developing the Korle-Bu College of Health Sciences Library as the centre for
future OER development at UG CHS. Mr. Aggrey and Mr. Sulemani have since drafted a
proposal on this topic to be submitted to Provost Lawson in May.
3) In collaboration with Prof C Engleberg, three OER teaching materials have been fully
developed and a fourth one is in the final stages of completion. The materials that have
been developed are:
a) An interactive teaching programme on Total Abdominal Hysterectomy which teaches
the indications for the procedure, the technique, post-operative management and
post-operative complications. The programme includes a video of the surgical
technique and interactive case studies,
b) An interactive teaching programme on sexually transmitted infections which has
different case presentations of patients with asexually transmitted infections. Users
learn about the necessary diagnostic processes and treatment of the conditions
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c) An interactive teaching programme on caesarean section which has case studies, a
video presentation of the technique of performing a caesarean section and material
that teaches about post-operative management and complications
d) The fourth interactive computer-based material is on the technique of performing
andrepairing an episiotomy. This is in the final stages of completion.
The material on total abdominal hysterectomy has been used by a group of students and
feedback has been obtained from these students about the usefulness of the material.
4) The Institution is currently finalizing its proposals regarding how it intends to invest its
budget allocation of US$40,000.
5) As noted above, preparations have been concluded to allow Kathleen Ludewig, an intern
from U-M, working under the supervision of Catherine Ngugi at OER Africa, to visit UG to
provide support in the dScribe process and other relevant activities.
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